The winter months have traditionally been my time to write. I hunker down, throw on a cape, steep tea, and spend hours at my computer. The next day I re-write everything from the day before, and then begin anew. The process goes on for months and I love it. Inevitably, the first signs of spring provoke anxiety. Lengthening days…
John Lennon’s observation that “Life is what happens to you when you are busy making other plans,” was an apt mantra for me during the last 4 weeks. Nobody plans a concussion, but life happens. The holiday schedule had included conducting a family Christmas, hosting a post-Christmas gathering of neighbors at the cottage, celebrating a three day family New…
Back home, we scoffed at taking 10 days to walk the last 110 kilometres of The Camino de Santiago. However, on Day 9 of our trek, we are not so dismissive. The Camino has its own way of humbling people who might be a tad too full of piss and vinegar. The walk is strenuous.…
Remember being sixteen, getting your driver’s licence and thinking you were all grown- up? The card in your wallet brought freedom, as long as the gas tank was full when you returned the car to your parents’ garage. That feeling of being grown-up may have lasted until you lost your virginity. In fifteen minutes…
If a plant is known to be toxic and invasive, why would anyone intentionally sow its seeds into a suburban garden? To piss off the neighbours? Unlikely. To engage in selective breeding? Possibly. But what if that plant is milkweed—a plant which by virtue of its name is a considered a weed and not…
Across the country, Canadians were given a forum to discuss end-of-life care, thanks to the Canadian Medical Association (CMA) and Macleans. The Town Hall style meetings were an inspired idea. I attended the meeting in Mississauga and was pleased to see the combination of structure and informality in the program. Participants could come away with a common vocabulary,…
“Forget about planning your funeral; begin planning your end of life!” That was the first response to my question, “What was your ‘takeaway’ from reading Autumn’s Grace?” as a recent discussion with The Neighbours’ Book Club was winding down. There were nods around the room. The speaker continued, “I have started talking with the people…
I met Alistair MacLeod during the cocktail reception for Humber College’s week long Creative Writing Workshop. The year was 2003. Alistair had corralled his seminar students to meet them and to establish the reading plan for the first two days Up until that evening, I believed that I was in Alistair MacLeod’s group because…
“But I didn’t kill him!” That was my seven year old’s anguished response when I had suggested he might say “I’m sorry,” to my brother-in-law whose father had died a few days before. My son had not killed his cousins’ grandpa; a stroke had. However, his retort and his evident distress made me realize how…
Once again I find myself in the midst of writing a story about something that incites my passion. This time it is elder care. But before I know it’s happening, I have ranted my way down a rabbit hole, and find myself figuratively peering up, saying, “How do I get out of here?” Writing about…
Bonnie Lendrum 